Wedding Bells
by Cathartic Trance
Summary: {SEQUEL TO: Forgiven Heart} Izumi and Kouji are preparing for there wedding, but will all go as planned? And what will happen when an old foe reappears?
1. The Wedding Planner

Wedding Bells

Written by: Fujiwara Zakuro

Chapter 1: The Wedding Planner

After Kouji proposed to Izumi at his wedding, they went back to Japan and brought all her things to his beach cliff side house. It took barely less than a week for Izumi to settle in because she owned a lot of furniture and clothing. But after she organized all of her belongings and such, Izumi and Kouji began to search for a wedding planner.

"Kouji, I'll check the Newspaper ads while you check the Help Wanted ads on the computer. Sounds like a good plan, right?" Izumi inquired. Kouji smiled and nodded. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and began rummaging through the pile of newspapers Kouji had. Kouji mounted the steps and entered the office, or the "bureau" as Izumi liked to say.

All afternoon, Izumi scanned the newspapers for ads, as did Kouji on the internet. "Now I know why they advertise the Help Wanted _websites_." Izumi stated as she sighed hopelessly. Izumi glumly tossed the newspaper aside and bent down to grab another newspaper when suddenly Kouji sprung up behind her and grabbed her waist

Now, the waist was Izumi's most sensitive spot to tickling, so she shot up from her seat and screamed. Kouji laughed and let go of Izumi's waist. "Don't do that!!!" Izumi whined. She stuck out her bottom lip and put on a mock sad face. Kouji stopped laughed and said, "You're too cute..." Kouji whispered into Izumi's ear. Izumi giggled and placed her lips upon his. For a while, Izumi and Kouji "canoodled" with each other.

To Izumi, the lingering kisses and embraces she and Kouji shared felt like forever, but it was actually 5 minutes... which was still generally long. Once the two calmed down, Kouji held up a paper with a few names, phone numbers and addresses written on its white surface. "I've got a few wedding planners here, want to try them out?" Kouji asked. Izumi nodded and threw the paper back on the table and kissed Kouji, yet again. "Tomorrow, though." Izumi murmured seductively. Kouji chuckled as she clumsily pushed him upstairs while kissing him.

The next morning, Kouji and Izumi woke up in their bed. Lord knows what they did last night... Anyway, they both took a shower, at individual times, might I add, and set off to the wedding planners' offices. They honestly looked like the perfect couple, a couple that many would be envious of...

Kouji and Izumi faced plenty of unconventional wedding planners, if you know what I mean. One was very forgetful, another was very scary-looking, as well as her personality and another wedding planner was a little too seductive to Izumi's liking.

Kouji drove his red Lamborghini to their last hope and final target: a wedding planner named Jeanne Levesque. Izumi noted that she had an appealing name and sounded like a good wedding planner. It took a short time to get to Ms. Levesque's house. It was a modestly small abode and it was nothing too special, but it made sense, since Jeanne was a single woman.

Izumi stepped up to the house's French doors and rang the star-shaped doorbell. A melodious tune and a patter of light footsteps were heard through the doors. The door opened to reveal a fair and graceful-looking woman. She had gentle lavender eyes and brownish-blond hair that was pulled into a bun held with chopsticks. She wore casual clothes, but looked none-the-less professional. According to both Kouji and Izumi, Jeanne really liked red, if you get what I'm saying.

"Hello, I suspect that you two are the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Minamoto?" Jeanne greeted. Izumi and Kouji nodded. They introduced themselves as Jeanne did to them. She invited them inside her house and led them to a fairly large room. A warm artificial fireplace burned inside the hearth, which was shielded behind a glass cover. Izumi wondered why there was a fireplace, in the first place, because the weather was already burning hot outside and her house was already warm without it.

"Please take a seat." Jeanne kindly gestured towards a couple of cushioned chairs. Izumi and Kouji sat themselves in the comfortable chairs as Jeanne sat down in a chair opposite of them. They discussed their affairs with each other and began to organize the wedding.

After their meeting, Izumi and Kouji weren't finished planning out their wedding, but they were half-way finished. Jeanne would take care of finding the assets, decorations and reception halls, but Izumi and Kouji still had _their_ responsibilities.

AN: I'm soooooo sorry for taking so long! Please forgive me, but I wasn't able to find time to write this chapter. I was too busy traveling back and forth to one city to another, but now I'm back. Just be prepared to have less frequent updates... sorry to say.

PS: This chapter was finished on October third, but the document manager was offline during 11:00 PM Eastern Time Zone, I was unable to upload it at the time.


	2. A Familiar Foe

Wedding Bells

Written by: Fujiwara Zakuro

Chapter 2: A Familiar Foe

Kouji was taking Izumi shopping the next day. Izumi was browsing through the cosmetics section and then the lingerie. Kouji just smiled and waited for his wife-to-be to finish selecting her products and such.

A while later, Izumi was still in the aisle browsing the products. Kouji was getting restless. He went up to his fiancée. "Izumi, I'm going to take a walk. We'll meet each other by the mall's fountain, okay?" Kouji said. Izumi nodded and gave him a quick peck on his right cheek. Kouji let Izumi return to her skimpy lingerie browsing and headed out of the store.

He strolled throughout the first floor without finding anything that interested him, so he decided to take the stairs onto the second floor. He enjoyed the faint rays of sun that poured out of the roof window. Kouji just stood there for a while and let himself be soaked by the bright rays.

Meanwhile, Izumi had pick out a very seductive red piece of lingerie for herself. She dumped it into her basket along with several lipsticks and eyeliners. Ah yes, she was the most fashionable woman that could ever roam the earth.

Kouji had continued his walk in the mall. He approached a music store and decided to check it out. He listened to a few samples and examined a few CDs. The music store was beginning to get boring for Kouji, so he emerged from it with a newly bought CD.

Kouji had decided to go to the mall's fountain, where he'd meet Izumi. She wasn't there, so he just sat at the edge of the fountain and admired it beauty. The fountain had a statue of a voluptuous mermaid and a handsome merman. The merman helped the mermaid carry a vase that was tipping downwards. The vase was where all the water poured out.

Kouji looked into the fountain and saw many pennies. The many customers at that mall would flick pennies into the gorgeous fountain after making a wish. Most fountains would be used like that, but Kouji didn't believe in such a thing. So there he was, sitting on the fountain's edge, waiting impatiently for his fiancée.

Izumi was still looking for more things to buy. Her shopping basket was getting pretty heavy, but that didn't slow Izumi down. She knew she had to meet Kouji at the fountain, but wanted to get just a few more products.

At the fountain, Kouji was pacing already. He was getting even more impatient and restless that he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, he lightly bumped into a woman. She was average height and had a very familiar appearance. She was raven-headed and had emerald eyes.

The woman looked at Kouji and muttered, "You..." Kouji apologized to the stranger, but she said nothing. "Excuse me, but do I know you? You look very familiar." Kouji stated. The woman sneered and chuckled. Kouji asked what was so funny, but the woman just kept on chuckling.

"Don't you remember me?" the woman asked when she finally stopped her chuckles. Kouji shook his head. He was getting annoyed. "Don't you remember college? I was the girl who ripped you relationship into pieces." The woman laughed. Kouji's eyes widened as the sad memories flooded back. "Carla..." he muttered. "Oh yes, it's me! Fancy meeting you here!" Carla exclaimed. Kouji saw in her eyes that she had become a venomous snake just ready to strike another painful attack against him.

"What are you doing here?" Kouji asked suspiciously. Carla sneered again and sarcastically replied, "The usual. I'm just here to _ruin_ young couples' romances." Kouji shook with rage. Her sarcasm was getting on his nerves. In fact, just the fact that she was there was unnerving. "Look, just leave Izumi and me alone." Kouji said in a low voice. Carla frowned. "_Izumi _and you?" she said. This time, it was Kouji's turn to sneer. "Yes, Izumi and me. She's my fiancée!" Kouji explained. Carla just muttered a cuss word under her breath and stormed away.

At that very moment, Izumi appeared by Kouji's side. "Kouji, who was that woman?" she inquired. "Carla." Kouji muttered. At the mentioning of that name, Izumi filled with anger. "What is _she_ doing here?" Izumi asked. "I don't know, but something tells me that we haven't seen that last of her." Kouji said.

AN: Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. I'll try my best to update frequently!


	3. Reception Halls and Chicken Balls

Wedding Bells

Written by: Fujiwara Zakuro

Chapter 3: Reception Halls and Chicken Balls

Izumi and Kouji tried their best not to waste a lot of time. They wanted to get married as soon as possible. Since both of them were rich, they both contributed in paying for the services they receives. They also ordered customized birthday invitations that cost around two hundred dollars per paper used, which seemed more like two dollars compared to what their budget was. They had them mailed immediately.

They also made a checklist of the guests that were invited to their ceremony and reception. There were over two hundred guests that were invited and each one would receive an invitation _including_ a response sheet which they'd return to Izumi and Kouji saying weather they'd make it to the wedding or not.. Do the math and you'd get eight hundred dollars worth of invitations!

Among the two hundred guests were a few fellow celebrities from both America and Japan that were also good friends of the romantic couple. By fellow celebrities, I mean _huge_ big-time Oscar, Grammy and other award winning stars like Lindsay Lohan, Avril Lavigne, Kate Hudson, Ben Affleck and others.

The second thing to do on their list was to find the perfect reception hall. Both Izumi and Kouji had their own tastes. Izumi's being exquisite and Kouji's being modern and not too fancy. Being the smart couple they were, they decided to merge their styles to create an exquisitely modern or modernly exquisite (however you wish to refer to it as) reception hall.

The couple decided to consult Jeanne Levesque for their reception hall. Izumi first suggested to find an actual wedding consulter, but Kouji didn't like spending as much money as Izumi liked to. That was probably why it was Izumi who chose the most expensive wedding invitations on the market.

Before Izumi and Kouji set off to Jeanne's house, they decided to get some Chinese food. The two lovebirds went to Chinatown, which was the home away from home for both Izumi and Kouji alike. A Chinese restaurant that wasn't too casual or elegant was their choice. They got a seat and ordered.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Izumi asked Kouji. Kouji smiled and nodded. "It was in a Chinese restaurant a day or two before the first day of school." Kouji replied. "You weren't nice to me, back then." Izumi pouted. Kouji laughed and ran his fingers through his long ebony hair. "But I was nice to you the day after that!" he protested. Izumi just playfully punched him on the arm and laughed. Kouji winced in mock pain and pouted. Izumi was such a suck up when it came to Kouji making that pleading face. She tried to resist, but she was too weak. She giggled and leant forward. She gave him a lingering kiss on his lips. While the two canoodled, a few others in the restaurant told them to get a room. The two lovebirds kept on kissing and payed absolutely no attention whatsoever to the rude comments. They were in love, and nothing would or could stop them from showing it.

When their orders arrived, Kouji and Izumi had stopped their smooching and ate. Like when she was a little child, Izumi had a few chicken balls on the side. She smiled as she thought about that day at the Chinese restaurant.

_Izumi wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and collided with a young boy about her age. They fell on top of each other. "Get off me." an icy cold voice commanded. "Gomen nasai!" Izumi apologized. She got up and offered her hand to the young boy, but he just shoved it out of the way and got up himself. "I'm able to get up by myself." he said. His voice sent shivers down Izumi's back. His voice was so cold it seemed that not even the burning hot summer weather could melt it! "Couldn't you be more polite?" Izumi muttered. The cold-voiced boy just glared at her and walked off towards the other end of the restaurant. "Way to ruin my summer!" Izumi muttered under her breath._

But that incident didn't ruin her summer at all. She met the man of her life that day and something told her that she would stay faithful to him no matter what.

"Izumi...? IZUMI!!! Snap out of it!" Kouji cried. Izumi had been daydreaming. "Huh? Who? What? When?" Izumi gasped in surprise. Kouji rolled his eyes and gave a slight chuckle. Izumi had realised what had just happened and laughed nervously while scratching her head in embarrassment.

After their lunch, Kouji and Izumi drove off to Jeanne's place. Izumi rang Jeanne's attractive star doorbell. The pleasant melody was heard through the French doors. Jeanne greeted them as she opened the door.

"So, what are you two lovebirds up to? I was just organizing your files and such." Jeanne said as she scooped up a bunch of papers that were spread across the table. She put them all in a neat piles and slid them into a folder that read, "Izumi and Kouji Minamoto".

"We're looking for a reception hall that is exquisite yet modern. We don't want anything too fancy, though." Izumi explained. Jeanne nodded and jotted down a few notes in an organiser. There were a few moments of silence while Jeanne thought and tapped her pen on her organiser. She suddenly had a bright look and said, "I have the perfect reception hall for you!"

Jeanne told Izumi and Kouji to wait while she got a brochure for a reception hall. She arrived not to long after holding a medium pile of papers in her hands. She gave it to Izumi and let the couple browse through the pages.

"Wow, this is an excellent reception hall! It's so beautiful!" Izumi exclaimed. Kouji nodded with interest as they examined photos of the hall. It was exactly what they wanted, so they took the brochure and thanked Jeanne for all her help. That night, Izumi booked the hall.

AN: Sorry for taking so long, but you do remember what I said before, right? You have to be prepared for less frequent updates, so here's an example. Anyway, I'll try to do as much as possible because I'll be moving and the place I'm moving to won't have internet. I'll try to accomplish a lot in the short period of time I have.


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